1. Field of the Invention
The ladder system is designed to be used in large retail stores and warehouses where storage shelves are located one on top of the other along the walls and the aisles where products and merchandise are stored. The storage room shelves may be anywhere from ten to twenty feet in height, sometimes even higher. When employees or workers remove large, sometime bulky packages from the shelves unassisted using only a ladder, such employees can fall thereby injuring themselves. This results in not only lost time for the employees but also the company may be responsible for the workers' injuries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One way of obtaining a package off from an overhead shelf is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,894,641, where a worker must carry a heavy platform to the desired site, then use a separate ladder to get to the platform. Thus, the employee has to incur the risk of having the ladder, platform or both slip while climbing, and once on the platform, the employee still has to climb down the ladder carrying the heavy package. Another prior art ladder is mounted on rollers for movement along the aisle while this type of ladder has benefits in some applications, if there are obstructive items stored on the floor of the aisle, the ladder may not always be able to pass around the obstructive items. The "library-type" ladder is also known in the prior art and is mounted for movement longitudinally along the storage racks or shelves. If obstructive items are in the way of the ladder, the ladder may not be able to move around the obstructive items.